Premier League LIVE: Leicester in ‘alarming situation’, Man United face tough Everton test, Aston Villa set to breach UEFA rules

Friday, February 21

Saturday, February 22

Sunday, February 23

Leicester 0-4 Brentford - FULL TIME

There is the final whistle, and Leicester have made a piece of dreadful, unwanted history.

The Foxes have become the first English top-flight side to lose six consecutive home games without scoring a goal.

It is a brutal statistic and one that reflects poorly on the players and the manager.

In truth, this game was too easy for Brentford, who carved the hosts open time and time again.

Yoane Wissa opened the scoring following a sensational mikkel Damsgaard pass.

Bryan Mbeumo doubled the lead with a curling strike before setting up Christian Norgaard.

There was then time in the second half for Fabio Carvalho to add a fourth.

Great night for the Bees, who are buzzing (apologies). Not so great for Leicester, who have plunged to new depths.

Leicester 0-3 Brentford - Kick-off

Unsurprisingly, Ruud van Nistelrooy has made two changes at half time.

Jannik Vestergaard and Stephy Mavididi are on.

Bobby Decordova-Reid and Woyo Couilbaly are the ones to make way.

Meanwhile, Yehor Yarmoliuk replaces Christian Norgaard.

Leicester 0-3 Brentford - HALF TIME

That is the end of the first half at the King Power, and the Bees are running riot.

Leicester started well and could have been 2-0 up, but once Mikkel Damsgaard set up Yoane Wissa with a delightful pass, it was one-way traffic.

Bryan Mbeumo doubled the lead before setting up Christian Norgaard with a beautiful free-kick.

Thomas Frank's men even had a goal chalked off for handball.

Leicester 0-3 Brentford - NO GOAL

Brentford think they have a fourth, but it's not going to count!

Again, it is Mikkel Damsgaard opening up the pitch with a pass out to the right.

Yoane Wissa tries to square for Keane Lewis-Potter, but the ball deflects off Wout Faes.

It looks to be heading in, but Mads Hermansen makes a save, and the ball flies off Lewis-Potter's arm and into the back of the net.

After a quick VAR check, the goal is correctly ruled out.

GOAL! Leicester 0-3 Brentford - Christian Norgaard

THIS IS A ROUT!

Brentford win a free-kick on the left.

Bryan Mbeumo steps up and delivers a wicked ball into the box.

It is begging to be put away, and Christian Norgaard beats every one to make contact with a glancing header.

The header flies into the back of the net, and many Leicester fans have had enough already.

GOAL! Leicester 0-2 Brentford - Bryan Mbeumo

THAT IS A LOVELY FINISH!

Brentford break up the pitch quickly and Mikkel Damsgaard has time and space in front of the Leicester back four.

He picks out Bryan Mbeumo on the right.

The Camerronian international is allowed inside onto his left foot, and he wastes no time in picking out the corner.

After a bright start, Leicester are collapsing at home again.

Meanwhile, Damsgaard has now made Brentford Premier League history by reaching ten assists for the season, more than any other Bees player.

GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Brentford - Yoane Wissa

THAT IS AN OUTRAGEOUS PASS!

Brentford have the lead, and Yoane Wissa is the scorer, but he has a lot to thank Mikkel Damsgaard for.

The Dane receives the ball on the edge of the penalty box and plays an incredible dinked pass through the Leicester defence.

Wissa is there to slam the ball into the back of the net.

But that might be the Assist of the Season!

Leicester 0-0 Brentford - Chances

Mark Flekken to the rescue!

Leciester could and possibly should be 2-0 up, but they aren't.

First, Woyo Couilbaly is denied by the Brentford goalkeeper at the near post before Jamie Vardy rolls the years back.

The ball is played in behind the Bees defence, and he is onto it.

He hasn't quite got the legs he used to, but he pops the ball through Ethan Pinnock's legs TWICE to create a chance.

He lashes in a strike with his left foot that Flekken blocks.

Leicester vs Brentford: Team news

Right, not long to go until Leicester vs Brentford gets going.

Let's have a look at the two starting XIs.

For the Foxes, there is one change to the side that lost 2-0 to Arsenal.

Woyo Couilbaly replaces the injured James Justin and makes his full Premier League debut.

For the Bees, there is also just one change.

Sepp van den Berg limped off during the 1-0 win over West Ham, so Ethan Pinnock is back into the side.

Breached

Big news coming from Aston Villa, and the club are reportedly set to breach UEFA's spending rules for 2024.

The Times' Martyn Ziegler states the Villans are set to be over the squad cost ratio guidelines set in place by Europe's governing body.

This follows Villa trying to get the same rules, that are set to be introduced by the top-flight, increased from 85 per cent to 90 per cent due to the amount of money they currently spend on wages.

Now, this all sounds rather dramatic, and many Villans could be forgiven for thinking that a ban or a point deduction could be on the way.

However, that isn't the case.

Instead, Unai Emery's men are likely to face a financial penalty of a few million.

Friday night under the lights

Right, the weekend's Premier League action starts this evening with a big game for Leicester at home.

talkSPORT will have live commentary of the match, with Hugh Woozencroft serving as your presenter.

Commentary will come from Joe Shennan and former Chelsea defender Scott Minto.

The Foxes are in the relegation zone and need three points or they could end up drifting away by the end of the weekend.

However, a win would take Ruud van Nistelrooy's men out of the drop zone.

Meanwhile, for Brentford, Thomas Frank has told his players they would be in the race for Europe with a win.

The Bees would move up to tenth if they take three points from the King Power.

So, it's a big one.

Dilemma

UEFA have confirmed the kick-off times for the Europa League last-16 ties, and it's bad news for broadcasters and British fans.

That is because all of the three British sides will play the first legs of their ties at 5:45pm UK time.

Usually, the matches are divided so that at least one team kicks off at 8pm, but that isn't the case this time.

That means Tottenham, Manchester United and Rangers all start at the same time.

All ties are set to be on the 6th of March.

'A really tough moment'

Fulham manager Marco Silva has revealed that Reiss Nelson could be out for the rest of the season.

And that may mean he won't play for the club again before having to return to the Emirates.

Nelson joined the Cottagers on loan from Arsenal in the summer but he's only made 13 appearances this campaign.

He had been suffering with a hamstring injury in recent weeks and as he neared in on a return, he's suffered another problem.

A hamstring injury in his other leg has set him back and now he's had to have surgery on the issue.

Speaking on Nelson, Silva said: “It's a really tough moment for us, we feel really sorry for him because he worked really hard to be back after his hamstring injury.

"We know in his best level he’s capable of winning us football matches - we were all excited and when he was ready to be in contention he felt the other hamstring.

“He got surgery there, and could be out until the end of the season.

"I don't want to give a timescale that is 100% sure, but it could be out until the end of the season, unfortunately for him, and for us."

Ange on injuries

Ange Postecoglou has given a new injury round-up for this Tottenham side who continue to be plagued with issues.

Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke are still expected to be sidelined for the next week or so.

But Postecoglou is starting to welcome back some key men.

He said this afternoon: "No new concerns from last week, everyone has got through the week OK. The other guys are ticking along well.

"We've got two games in quick succession in the league and this is a good opportunity to give match minutes to guys who have been out for a while.

"We saw Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario come back last week. James Maddison as well, Destiny Odogie, we need to give him some match minutes.

"We've got a week until the next European game and that's about the time we're hoping guys like Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in particular should be in and around that mark [to return].

"Richarlison and Dominic Solanke are not too far behind."

Going nowhere

Brighton are relaxed about Everton's interest in their technical director David Weir, talkSPORT understands.

Weir played under Everton boss David Moyes at Goodison Park and features prominently in new owner Dan Friedkin's list of potential replacements for current director of football Kevin Thelwell.

However, he has given Brighton owner Tony Bloom no indication that he is looking to leave his current role.

Weir played over 200 games for Everton, but so far, he doesn't seem tempted to make a return to the club.

The Scotsman, on the left of the image below, has been part of the Seagulls' set-up since 2019.

Pay up

Burnley will demand £30million for Newcastle target James Trafford, talkSPORT understands.

The Magpies are confident of finally signing Trafford this summer after several previous failed attempts to prise him away from Turf Moor.

But Burnley believe they can command a high price for their England World Cup hopeful, especially if they are promoted to the Premier League.

Trafford has kept 23 clean sheets this season and has not conceded a goal for more than 1,000 minutes.

He also now holds the record for the most consecutive clean sheets ever in the Championship.

Chelsea's opponents

To wrap up the European draws for the day, Chelsea have found out their last 16 opponents in the Conference League.

They will face Danish side Copenhagen.

If they make it through that tie, they will then face the winner of Molde vs Legia Warsaw.

Should they go all the way and reach the final, it's likely they'll take on Fiorentina or Real Betis in the showpiece.

Here's the full Europa Conference League draw:

Haaland update

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has also given an update on Erling Haaland ahead of the blockbuster clash this weekend.

Haaland played no part against Real Madrid in midweek after picking up an issue against Newcastle last time out in the league.

Concerns have arose about his fitness heading into the huge game against Liverpool after Guardiola confirmed an injury.

And now, he's provided a new update on Haaland's fitness.

On whether the Norweigan will be fit for Sunday, he said: "Don't know yet. Tomorrow we will know it but I don't know.

"It's better to have Erling on the pitch but obviously, we don't have it but of course with Erling we are stronger."

Guardiola also revealed that John Stones may have to undergo surgery after picking up an injury in Madrid.

The Spaniard added: "He's injured, difficult one, next hours/days we will know whether he needs surgery or not."

'It's not personal'

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Kevin De Bruyne wasn't left on the bench against Real Madrid due to injury.

The Man City boss simply made the decision to leave him out.

"Decisions," Guardiola said at his pre-Liverpool press conference this morning. "My decision.

"Yeah, of course [he can still play in big games], he played against Madrid at home, of course he can play..."

The City manager continued: "The relationship with Kevin is exceptional. I can't be thankful enough for what he's done for me, the team, everyone. It's just a decision.

"Normally I don't speak with players, not just Kevin, on why they don't play. They don't ask me why when I decide to let them play from the beginning or during.

"It's just a decision from what I've seen, for many reasons, a few. Never ever is it personal, never ever I'm upset.

"Also Jeremy [Doku] didn't play and his last game was in Ipswich, played unbelievable, and after was injured.

"But maybe for the demands, the way we now need to play because of the absences or strengths that we have and physicality and many things, we need a game of more control and not up and down.

"Don't tell me why. It's not personal, I decide the decisions, that's all, no more than that..."

Potential quarter-finals

Here's who each team could face if they progress through...

Should Man United beat Real Sociedad, they will play the winner FSCB vs Lyon while Tottenham could play Ajax or Frankfurt.

Rangers will play one of Roma or Athletic Bilbao if they win.

Spurs and United are on opposite sides of the Europa League bracket, meaning they could potentially meet in the final.

The Red Devils have the chance to face Rangers or potentially reunite with Jose Mourinho in the semis.

Here's the full last 16 draw:

Ties confirmed

The three British teams have now found out their fate...

Manchester United are going to face Real Sociedad in the last 16.

The last time United faced the Spanish outfit, they lost 1-0 at Old Trafford during a group stage clash in 2022.

Tottenham will be taking on AZ Alkmaar in a game that will see former Spurs striker Troy Parrott return.

Rangers will meet Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in their tie.

As all they all qualified from the league phase automatically, they will play the second leg of their last 16 tie at home.

Underway!

The second draw of the day has begun.

UEFA's ceremony in Nyon, Switzerland is now underway and the draw will be taking place very soon.

In the same fashion as the Champions League, each automatically qualified team will draw a play-off winner.

And then each side of the bracket will be filled out.

Man United, Tottenham and Rangers fans will then all be able to map out their route to the final.

Europa League up next

The draws continue from 12pm.

Next up, the Europa League last 16 ties will be decided with Manchester United and Tottenham awaiting their fate.

Both teams were paired together in the knockout stage bracket after finishing third and fourth in the table.

It means one will face AZ Alkmaar and one will face LaLiga side Real Sociedad.

Rangers are also involved in the draw and they are going to be handed one of Fenerbahce and Bodo/Glimt.

Quarter-final ties

Well, well, well.

We have some potentially incredible quarter-final ties.

Liverpool will face Aston Villa in the last eight should they both progress through against PSG and Brugge respectively!

Arsenal will take on Real Madrid or Atletico if they beat PSV.

All Premier League clubs are on the same side of the draw, so an all-English final is impossible to happen.

But that potential quarter-final line-up looks tasty!

Fate decided

The last 16 draw is now complete!

Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa know their fate.

Arne Slot's side will be taking on PSG while Mikel Arteta's men are going to take on PSV Eindhoven.

Villa have been drawn against Belgian side Club Brugge.

All of the Premier League clubs will play the second leg of their Champions League tie at home.

Here's the draw in full which includes an incredible Madrid derby and an all-German clash...